The Bangkok Declaration and Strategy was drafted by a Technical Drafting Committee (TDC), taking into account the recom-mendations of all conference sessions, and the views and suggestions expressed by the participants during and after the Conference. The composition of the TDC is: Glenn Hurry and Chen Foo Yan (Co-Chairs), Uwe Barg, Pedro Bueno, Jorge Calderon, Jason Clay, Sena De Silva, Maitree Duangsawasdi, Dilip Kumar, Le Thanh Luu, Modadugu V. Gupta, Joaquin Orrantia, Michael Phillips, Rolando Platon, Vincent Sagua, Sevaly Sen, Patrick Sorgeloos, Rohana Subasinghe, Rolf Willmann, and Wu Chao Lin.
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Preface The
first major international Conference on Aquaculture organized by FAO was held in Kyoto,
Japan in 1976. The Conference adopted the Kyoto Declaration on Aquaculture. In
February 2000, some 540 participants from 66 countries and more than 200 governmental and
non-governmental organizations participated in the Conference on Aquaculture in the
Third Millennium in Bangkok, Thailand. This conference was organized by the Network
of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and FAO and hosted by the Government of
Thailand. Additional support was provided by the European Union (EU), the Australian
Agency for International Development (AusAID), the Canadian International Development
Agency (CIDA), the Danish Centre for Environment and Development (DANCED), the Department
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Australia (AFFA), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund,
and the World Bank-Netherlands Partnership Program. |
Major
themes discussed included policy-making and planning for sustainable aquaculture
development (covering food security and poverty alleviation, rural development,
stakeholder involvement, incentives, and legal and institutional frameworks);
technological and R&D priorities (including systems/species, genetics, health
management, nutrition/feeding, and culture-based fisheries); human resource development;
international trade; product quality, safety and marketing; regional/interregional
cooperation; financing; and institutional support. |
Aquaculture Development Beyond 2000: |
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NACA/FAO, 2000. Aquaculture Development Beyond 2000: the Bangkok Declaration and Strategy.1 Conference on Aquaculture in the Third Millennium, 20-25 February 2000, Bangkok, Thailand. NACA, Bangkok and FAO, Rome. 27pp. |
1. PREAMBLE 1.1 The first
international Conference on Aquaculture organized by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was held in Kyoto, Japan in 1976. The
Conference adopted the Kyoto Declaration on Aquaculture. |
2. THE DECLARATION |
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2.15
effective national institutional arrangements and capacity, policy, planning and
regulatory frameworks in aquaculture and other relevant sectors are essential to support
aquaculture development; |
should
cooperate to promote the responsible growth of aquaculture; 3 Strategy for Aquaculture Development Beyond 2000 3.1 INVESTING IN PEOPLE THROUGH EDUCATION AND TRAINING
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3.2 INVESTING IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT There is a need to increase investment in aquaculture research, while making efficient use of research resources and building the capacity of research institutions to be more responsive to development requirements through such mechanisms as:
3.3 IMPROVING INFORMATION FLOW AND COMMUNICATION Efficient
management of the sector requires improved information flows at the national, regional and
interregional levels which will avoid duplication of effort and save costs, while
encouraging consistency in areas such as education and training, policy-making, planning
and the application of rules and procedures.
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The collection and dissemination of accurate and verifiable information on aquaculture may help to improve its public image and should be given attention. 3.4 IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY AND ALLEVIATING POVERTY
3.5 IMPROVING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY There is a need to develop and adopt policies and practices that ensure environmental sustainability, including environmentally sound technologies and resource efficient farming systems, and integration of aquafarms into coastal area and inland watershed management plans. Improvements in environmental sustainability can be achieved through:
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3.6 INTEGRATING AQUACULTURE INTO RURAL DEVELOPMENT With the goal of increasing the impact of aquaculture on rural development and poverty alleviation, strategies are required to put people as the focal point for planning and development for such programmes and to integrate aquaculture into overall rural development programmes. In essence, this can be achieved through:
3.7 INVESTING IN AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT Future investment in aquaculture should be made with long-term strategies in mind to ensure sustainability. Private sector investments make the biggest contribution to aquaculture development, but adequate public sector finance for capacity building, institutional development and infrastructure, is |
indispensable
for society to reap the full benefits of a well-managed and efficient aquaculture sector.
International
development assistance is becoming increasingly directed towards poverty alleviation and
needs to adhere to basic principles of social equity, including gender equity,
environmental sustainability, technical feasibility, economic viability and good
governance. The level of risk is important when supporting initiatives to address poverty
alleviation. 3.8 STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT One of the key issues for the growth of aquaculture will be the ability of countries and organizations to strengthen their institutional capacity to establish and implement policy and regulatory frameworks that are both transparent and enforceable. Incentives, especially economic incentives, deserve to be given more attention in the planning and management of aquaculture development. |
Institutional capacity should be made more effective and strengthened through:
3.9 APPLYING INNOVATIONS IN AQUACULTURE The
technologies for sustainable aquaculture development should provide a varied and adaptable
tool box from which people can select and design the system which most
effectively meets their needs and best fits the opportunities and constraints of the local
environment. The delivery of such techniques requires efficient communication networks,
reliable data on the merits and drawbacks of the various approaches, and help with the
decision-making process through which people choose their production systems and species. |
3.10 IMPROVING CULTURE-BASED FISHERIES AND ENHANCEMENTS Fisheries
enhancements in inland and coastal waters include culture-based fisheries and habitat
modifications in common pool aquatic resources, which require minimal food and energy
inputs. These practices therefore provide important opportunities for resource-poor
sections of the population to benefit from relevant aquaculture technologies and permit
efficient use of underutilized, new or degraded resources. Culture-based fisheries in
particular have considerable potential for increasing fish supplies from both freshwater
and marine fisheries and generating income in rural inland and coastal areas.
3.11 MANAGING AQUATIC ANIMAL HEALTH Disease
is currently an important constraint to aquaculture growth which has impacted both
socio-economic development and rural livelihoods in some countries. Addressing aquatic
animal health issues has, therefore, become an urgent requirement for sustaining growth of
aquaculture, especially through proactive programmes. Harmonizing health protection
approaches and measures and effective cooperation at national, regional and interregional
levels are needed to maximize the effectiveness of limited resources.
Establishment of an effective international mechanism, such as an international task force which is outcome-oriented with focused strategies and milestones that are independent of vested interests, would be beneficial in reducing the losses due to diseases in aquaculture. |
of aquatic animal pathogens and resulting impacts on aquatic biodiversity;
Establishment of an effective international mechanism, such as an international task force which is outcome-oriented with focused strategies and milestones that are independent of vested interests, would be beneficial in reducing the losses due to diseases in aquaculture. 3.12 IMPROVING NUTRITION IN AQUACULTURE Nutrition
and feeding strategies play a central and essential role in the sustainable development of
the aquaculture sector. Feed development will need to give increased emphasis on efficient
use of resources and reduction of feed waste and nutrient discharge. Fishmeal reduction in
diets will be important to reduce feed costs and avoid competition with other users.
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3.13 APPLYING GENETICS TO AQUACULTURE Genetics
has an important role to play in increasing productivity and sustainability in aquaculture
through higher survival, increased turnover rate, better use of resources, reduced
production costs and environmental protection. This will require resources, but the
benefits in both the short and long term should justify these efforts.
3.14 APPLYING BIOTECHNOLOGY Biotechnology as a science has the potential to impact on all food production sectors. In the future the aquaculture sector will confront the issue of biotechnology through:
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3.15 IMPROVING FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETY As
consumer awareness increases, aquaculture producers, suppliers and processors will need to
improve the quality of products and enhance product safety and nutritional value. The
incentives for this will be potentially higher prices, lower insurance rates and increased
consumer demand.
3.16 PROMOTING MARKET DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE A focus on market development and trade will increase demand, add value and increase returns for aquaculture products. This will require developing marketing and promotional strategies for aquaculture products and understanding consumer requirements and changing market demands. |
These goals can be achieved through:
3.17 SUPPORTING STRONG REGIONAL AND INTERREGIONAL COOPERATION Over
the years, regional and interregional cooperation has brought considerable benefits to
aquaculture development through dissemination of knowledge and expertise. In an era of
globalization, further strengthening of this cooperation at all levels will ensure
increased benefits for sectoral development and sustainability.
The Conference noted there are issues relevant to aquaculture development that require a strong global focus to be addressed and that this need might best be achieved by establishing a global intergovernmental forum within an appropriate existing international organization, having sustai-nable aquaculture development as its primary focus, and with a mandate for discussion, decision and agreement on technical and policy matters |
4. IMPLEMENTATION |